Huge wait for cataract surgery makes my voting choice clear - Susan Dalgety
It was only a matter of time before my optician gave me the news I was dreading. “You have cataracts in both eyes now,” she said, squinting through her high-tech equipment.
Sitting back, she added, “and they are quite dense. Problem is they are just short of the threshold for referral to the NHS for treatment, but they will be ‘ready’ very soon.”
She looked at me. “You could go private,” she said. “But it’s about £10,000 for both eyes.”
I gulped. My eyesight is precious to me. Without it I can’t earn a living, I can’t read or spend pointless hours scrolling social media. But ten grand? Impossible.
“You could always go to Turkey,” she laughed. “No, I am serious. It is much, much cheaper and you will get a holiday too. And the surgeons are very good.”
Walking home though the driech rain, I contemplated a city break in Istanbul, with cataract removal the main event.
As soon as I was settled with a coffee, I started Googling. Cataract surgery is 75 per cent cheaper than in the UK, shrieked the search engine.
I then checked the waiting list times for ophthalmology in NHS Lothian. I wish I hadn’t. It can take up to 104 weeks or TWO YEARS to see a specialist, and then another few months before getting treatment.
At this rate, I will be practically blind by the time I go under the knife. Suddenly, a trip to Istanbul seems very attractive.
Then I read a report in this newspaper that shows there are 16,000 people waiting for an ophthalmology appointment in Lothian – one in four of everyone waiting for treatment in Scotland.
What hope do I have of getting my eyesight fixed any time soon?
My optician is doing her best. I now have three new pairs of specs. Varifocals with a very strong prescription. Sunglasses to protect my eyes from glare. And “super readers” so that I can use my laptop with some degree of comfort.
The cost is between me and my credit card, but they were worth every hard-earned penny to help me see better, even if I still have to work out how I move between three pairs of specs without losing at least one.
In ten weeks’ time, the SNP government would like us to vote for them again. “Let us build a Scotland all of us can be proud of,” said John Swinney when rallying his SNP troops recently.
He added: “On May 7, let’s offer Scotland trusted leadership. A renewed focus on the priorities of the people...”
Well, this person’s priority is a national health service that works. Where people can see their GP without begging and where essential treatment is readily available in Edinburgh, not Istanbul.
The SNP has been in power for 19 years. I will have to wait more than two years to get a 15-minute procedure that will save my sight.
This is not a Scotland we can all be proud of, it is a country that is broken. I can’t wait to vote on 7 May and despite my eyesight, I will see clearly where to mark my X.
And it won’t be SNP.